SEE IT: Photos capture golden eagle taking down a deer in Russia

A camera set up by scientist Linda Kerley captures a golden eagle attacking a sika deer in Russia. (Courtesy ZSL)

It was a wildlife death match — cruel and up close.

Scientists unintentionally photographed a golden eagle striking a young sika deer, capturing the brutality of life in the wild.

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"The size difference is astounding — that an eagle can look at a deer and think I can kill that," Jonathan Slaght of the Wildlife Conservation Society told the Daily News.

Linda Kerley of the Zoological Society of London set up a camera trap to shoot the endangered Siberian tigers of far east Russia. But the deer's carcass puzzled her two weeks later when she returned to the site to switch memory cards and change batteries, Slaght explained.

"There were no large carnivore tracks in the snow, and it looked like the deer had been running and then just stopped and died," Kerley said. "It was only after we got back to camp that I checked the images from the camera and pieced everything together. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

‘There were no large carnivore tracks in the snow, and it looked like the deer had been running and then just stopped and died,’ Kerley said. It was only when she saw the camera’s film that she saw what had happened. (Courtesy ZSL)

Cheryl Dykstra, editor in chief of the peer-reviewed journal, told The News that this is the first time a golden eagle has been documented in great detail killing a deer.

"The documentation is so spectacular that it showed exactly how it occurred," Dykstra said.

Kerley wrote the piece with Slaght, who studies birds of prey.

Slaght noted that golden eagles are known for astonishing strikes around the world. He said they typically prey on rabbits, but have taken down foxes, coyote and even a young brown bear cub.

But photographic evidence of the kill was shocking even for a raptor expert.

Jonathan Slaght of the Wildlife Conservation Society said that golden eagles around the world typically prey on rabbits, but have been known to take down foxes, coyote — even a young brown bear cub. (Courtesy ZSL)

"It took me a long time just staring at it to process that it was an eagle attacking a deer. It was just so unexpected," Slaght said.

Researchers at the ZSL and WCS have monitored Siberian tigers with camera traps for six years in the Lazovsky Nature Preserve. Both groups have been part of the Siberian tiger conservation effort for roughly two decades, according to the WCS.

Their article says there is no evidence to suggest that golden eagles pose a serious threat to deer populations.

"I've been assessing deer causes of death in Russia for 18 years," Kerley said, "this is the first time I've seen anything like this."